Northern Territory to trial roads without speed limits

One-year trial for 200 kilometre stretch of the Stuart Highway.

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Outback speed limits will be abolished on a 200 kilometre stretch of the Stuart Highway as part of a 12 month trial that starts in February 2014.

Northern Territory transport minister Peter Styles says the outback drive between Alice Springs and Barrow Creek was an ideal place for the trial.

?The Territory has a unique road network with a low traffic volume and this section of road has been identified as an appropriate trial section,? he says. ?In the ten years between 2001-2011 there wasn?t any speed related fatalities on this stretch of road.?

Mr Styles says the limitless road was not an invitation for people to drive recklessly.

?We are bringing responsibility back to motorists ? they need to be able to drive to the road conditions and their capabilities,? he says. ?Be warned, police will continue to prosecute those who drive in a dangerous manner, and will be increasing enforcement of the non-wearing of seatbelts and drink driving which remain the major causes of fatalities and serious injuries on Territory roads.?

Learner and provisional drivers will have to adhere to limits placed on their licences, and heavy vehicles will continue to face restrictions.

The Country Liberal Party currently holds power in the Territory, and it has moved to overturn blanket speed limits introduced by previous Labor leadership.

Mr Styles says authorities will study the outcomes of the 12-month trial that starts on February 1, 2014.

Ray Wyatt, branch secretary for the Transport Workers? Union in South Australia and the Northern Territory, did not welcome news of the trial.

?Life is more valuable than people going quicker from A to B,? he says. ?The faster you go, the more damage will occur in an accident. It raises the risk.?

Andrew McKellar, executive director of the Australian Automobile Association, told the ABC that the move was a step backward.

"Increasing the speed limits will increase the risk and more people will die as a result," he says.

"It's gambling with people's lives... it is absolutely inevitable that people will die as a result."

The NT government will remove speed limits on a 200km stretch of the Stuart Highway. Photo: Glenn Campbell

Open speed limits were abolishedby the former Territory Labor Government in 2006 and replaced by a maximum limit of 130km/h. From that time until 2012, more people died on Northern Territory roads (307) than in the six years before the change (292).